Zivity’s CEO, CSO Discuss Funding An Adult Startup

It wasn’t that long ago that we discussed a New York Times article dealing with the reluctance of VC’s when it comes to investing in adult-oriented businesses. So you can imagine how the recent news of a social networking/pin up site finding Valley funding piqued our interest.

To get a first hand account, we took the time to chat with Zivity CEO Jeffrey Wescott and Chief Strategy Officer Cyan Banister about what the first round was like for the San Francisco-based site. But while the NYT article focused on the importance of attracting investors by placing adult properties under the umbrellas of non-adult media companies, the folks at Zivity informed us that they chose another method.

"We think it’s our unapologetic approach that has nabbed our investors," mused Banister. "Women who want to be sexy is not pornography, and us stressing that has helped us a lot. It’s never been about creating a site that’s a dirty little secret, and investors really need to hear that."

From our discussion with Wescott and Banister, it seemed like half the battle with potential investors revolved around setting people straight after hearing about the site. "When you start to make distinctions like the fact that the models don’t have to pose nude, and that the focus is more on the models rather than some act they’re performing then investors start to get it," explained Wescott.

"It’s when you tell them that the free version of the site is only going to offer Victoria’s Secret or Maxim-type pictorials that they realize that you’re approaching them with more than ‘Hey, I’ve got this seedy idea that could make us a lot of money.’"

And the potential to make money seems viable. Although social networking has exploded, it’s safe to say that a lot of the Web 2.0’s popularity has been missing a patently adult outlet. This idea has not only helped Zivity’s founders create a direction for the site, but has also been the brass ring for potential investors according to Wescott:

"When you have a site that revolves around sexy photographs, you get to do more targeted things and tap into a whole new market with the social network features. Paying members not only get to contact the models and photographers, but they also get to do things like compile favorite photosets and blog on their profiles. Features like that have created a lot of interest, so we’re hoping it’ll draw in users as well."

With the close of a successful Series A round of funding and the site chugging along in private beta, only time will tell whether an idea that was 20 years in the making can really help thaw the market’s on-going uneasiness with investing in adult-oriented businesses. But for the the time being, the future looks bright for the site and its private list of investors.

"The idea behind capping our investment at $1 million is tied to making sure we avoided investments from traditional adult media sources," Banister explained. "It’s all part of a plan to methodically decide how much money we want to take and on what terms. Investors that would want to alter the amount we pay out to models would be changing the focus of the site, and we want to avoid that."

An adult site that’s concerned about how its investors effect its image? My, how the tables have turned.